Touch of Petulance story
A man travels back from the future to dissuade his younger self from killing his wife. Directed by: John Laing. Story by: Ray Bradbury.
11 total · 1 choice · 5 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| time travel | choice | The old Jonathan shot dead his wife before traveling back in time in order to dissuade his younger self making the same mistakes he had. |
| expressing feelings | major | The young Jonathan understood from the old Jonathan that he'd better do things like tell his wife he loves her, in order to prevent the marriage from going down the drain. |
| husband and wife | major | The old Jonathan shot dead his wife before traveling back in time in order to dissuade his younger self making the same mistakes he had. |
| self-fulfilling prophesy | major | The old Jonathan traveled back in time to dissuade his younger self from murdering his wife. But in so doing, the old Jonathan inadvertently supplied the young Jonathan with the pistol that the young Jonathan would presumably use to do the fated deed. |
| spouse murder | major | The old Jonathan shot dead his wife before traveling back in time in order to dissuade his younger self making the same mistakes he had. |
| what if I met myself from a different time | major | The story turns on the old Jonathan somehow traveling back in time from the year 2025 to dissuade his younger self from murdering his (their) wife. |
| alcohol abuse | minor | The old Jonathan pointedly declined to drink at dinner. After dinner, he chided his younger self for drinking too much, leaving the viewer to ponder whether the old Jonathan had hit the sauce one too many a time at some point. |
| coping with a failing marriage | minor | The old Jonathan told the young Jonathan about how his marriage was destined to go badly should he fail to do something about it. |
| creative writing | minor | In the introduction, Ray Bradbury shared with the viewer the wellsprings of creativity that inspire his writing. |
| romantic love | minor | The young Jonathan made a heartfelt proclamation of his love for Alice at the dinner table. Alice reciprocated. |